Just as a warning, the Campaign mode of GSB, despite failure to advertise as such in the store, REQUIRES an active internet connection to play. This is super. Having shelved the game for a few years, I picked it up again fairly recently when I was looking for a timesink to have a bit of fun here and there while underway (yep, that's right, I'm playing that card -- I'm a US Sailor, and THAT'S why I don't have constant online access, before anyone just goes "lol sucks for you"). Now, I had nothing DLC-wise for the game, and I was ecstatic to see the mention of the DLC adding a campaign. Fantastic! A way to tie the battle's together while adding a bit of metagame! Sign me up!

Well, I buy it, then find that I am unable to log in to the campaign when I start the game up again after getting back to my ship. Okay, guess I just need to activate it... fast-forward to today, where I register the game, put in my key, all that... then, as a test, disconnect from the internet. Nope, Campaign is disabled now.

Look, having fished around on Google for a minute just a bit ago, I gather NOW that (according to several-year-old forum posts from GC's release) that Positech's website indicates online functionality required. Like, that's great, I appreciate that, but Valve fails to mention this in any capacity on the store page; the GC game manual, itself, doesn't say anything (and I made sure to look); there is nothing saying "hey, if you don't have the internet, you can't play this game mode". Now, hey, I applaud the whole "fight other player's fleets!" thing, but it's startlingly inconvienient for anyone who doesn't want to/can't be online to play it... and to be quite blunt, I like GSB, but when looking at my narrow windows of internet bandwidth, there are MANY more games that I feel are more deserving of my online gameplay then a glorified tower defense game.

Long story short, get Valve to fix their blurb, because I don't want to see anyone else out 7 bucks for this oversight.

Lots of assumptions, there. Well, let's see here, the only time having to download other players' fleets is mentioned is the ONE bullet point (out of a dozen or so) saying "'Massively singleplayer' feature pits you against fleets designed by other players". You could point at that and say, "well, OBVIOUSLY this means you MUST play other players' fleets". But then again, the base game had the OPTION to be "challenged" by other players' fleets... but there was no need to do so to play the game.

So, logically following that, it's mentioned as a FEATURE that you can be challenged on the base game's store page. I don't point at that and say "well, clearly, I must have to play online". By your own skewed, biased interpretations, one should look at that and say "Oh man, looks like I'm gonna have to be online to play the game". But you don't in the base game, and it follows that what is mentioned as a FEATURE for the campaign mode should be an option, not a mandatory fact.

Lots of assumptions, there. Well, let's see here, the only time having to download other players' fleets is mentioned is the ONE bullet point (out of a dozen or so) saying "'Massively singleplayer' feature pits you against fleets designed by other players".

This means that you need to be online to play

You could point at that and say, "well, OBVIOUSLY this means you MUST play other players' fleets".

I don't see where it says you can play single player with the campaign mod.

But then again, the base game had the OPTION to be "challenged" by other players' fleets... but there was no need to do so to play the game.

Except that was single player with fleets predesigned and always the same, that's not the case with the online.

[quote[So, logically following that, it's mentioned as a FEATURE[/quote]And knowing how GSB works you should have assumed that the lack of singleplayer with pre-made fleets not being there would mean that you need to player other people's fleets.

that you can be challenged on the base game's store page. I don't point at that and say "well, clearly, I must have to play online".

It says no where that you can't be online, and it was mentioned (You admitted this) on the official GSB forums (Where all the announcements are made, including the campaign mode in it's earliest forms) it said you needed to be online.

By your own skewed, biased interpretations, one should look at that and say "Oh man, looks like I'm gonna have to be online to play the game".

Not even biased, it makes the most sense to play against other player's fleets in the randomly generated world (Mind you all fleets in the single player are predesigned and built, this is not the case in campaign)

But you don't in the base game,

Except the base single player game is the smallest part of the game.

and it follows that what is mentioned as a FEATURE for the campaign mode

And it is. It's mentioned, that you are battling other people's fleets.

Lots of assumptions, there. Well, let's see here, the only time having to download other players' fleets is mentioned is the ONE bullet point (out of a dozen or so) saying "'Massively singleplayer' feature pits you against fleets designed by other players".

This means that you need to be online to play

Massively singleplayer FEATURE. Assassin's Creed, as a random example, FEATURES multiplayer, but there is still a single-player mode.

You could point at that and say, "well, OBVIOUSLY this means you MUST play other players' fleets".

I don't see where it says you can play single player with the campaign mod.

It shouldn't have to be explicitly stated, as any other game with a "campaign" is a single-player affair. I don't assume I need online to play, say... Endless Space's campaign, or Command and Conquer's (4 being the exception, but it is explicitly stated to be needed), or Call of Duty (not that anyone would play those campaigns), or any other game of ANY other genre having a "campaign".

But then again, the base game had the OPTION to be "challenged" by other players' fleets... but there was no need to do so to play the game.

Except that was single player with fleets predesigned and always the same, that's not the case with the online.

The merits of the design are not at debate. Whether or not those predefined fleets are "fun" or "good" doesn't change that they exist.

So, logically following that, it's mentioned as a FEATURE

And knowing how GSB works you should have assumed that the lack of singleplayer with pre-made fleets not being there would mean that you need to player other people's fleets.

Nah, knowing how GSB works I should have (and did) assumed that there would be a "watered-down" single-player experience, with the option to "spice it up" with other players' fleets.

that you can be challenged on the base game's store page. I don't point at that and say "well, clearly, I must have to play online".

It says no where that you can't be online, and it was mentioned (You admitted this) on the official GSB forums (Where all the announcements are made, including the campaign mode in it's earliest forms) it said you needed to be online.

Unclear on your point. Yes, the base game does have an offline playing mode. And yes, I admitted that, after researching it (by googling "hey, why can't I play campaign mode offline") I found it mentioned, YEARS ago when the DLC came out, that it would not have an offline component, but this should be readily available and stated explicitly, especially with every sign pointing to it not needing to be online.[/quote]

By your own skewed, biased interpretations, one should look at that and say "Oh man, looks like I'm gonna have to be online to play the game".

Not even biased, it makes the most sense to play against other player's fleets in the randomly generated world (Mind you all fleets in the single player are predesigned and built, this is not the case in campaign)

Actually, let's see here -- Playing offline "skirmishes" in any given real time strategy, tactics, or turn-based strategy or tactics games allow you to play, again, with a 'watered-down' experience -- yes, things get 'same-y', but the AI is programmed with its own unit lists and groupings that it can still play against you. For like the umpteenth time, forgive me for assuming that GSB would be like every other strategic/tactical game on the market that I know of.

But you don't in the base game,

Except the base single player game is the smallest part of the game.

You could say the same of any RTS/RTT/TBS/TBT game, that the only WORTHWHILE and EMERGENT game mode is playing other people online. For some, including myself, even pre-programmed AI opponents are still fun to play.

and it follows that what is mentioned as a FEATURE for the campaign mode

And it is. It's mentioned, that you are battling other people's fleets.

I'm not sure how much more I can hammer this nail without it being lost. The base game FEATURES battling other players' fleets... BUT IT IS NOT THE SOLE GAME MODE. "Feature" implies one aspect of the whole.

should be an option, not a mandatory fact.

Tell me how that's supposed to work?

I point for the final time at any dozens, even hundreds, of strategy/tactics games that are perfectly capable of providing a single-player experience without needing to download other players' build orders or strategies. Just answer me this, since I haven't touched it myself for obvious reasons -- do you interact directly with another player in the campaign? Is another player issuing orders, deciding which planet to attack, etc.? Because if not, the architecture is very much there that the game can decide to do with what it has available, as determined by a player initially... or, if the GSB devs had felt so inclined, a handful of 'unit lists' providing some modicum of TRULY single-player experience, and so there you go, works quite handily.

If it DOES require player input beyond "these are the ships in my fleet", so be it, but my understanding of the mechanics is that it's like the challenges in that a fleet is predefined and put on the board, after which the AI does what it will. Please, enlighten me as to why this precludes having at least a few token fleets thrown together so that one doesn't have to be online? Other than "well it's more fun playing only fleets other people make!", that's a wholly subjective statement.